


Something Cliché About Hope

by LamiaHypnosia



Series: Dies Irae [10]
Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Drama, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:42:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28845531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LamiaHypnosia/pseuds/LamiaHypnosia
Summary: The cost of victory is steep, but Kathryn got what she wanted. Almost. Everything in life is fleeting, after all.There is no grand celebration nor dramatic ending, because nothing truly ends.
Series: Dies Irae [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2001835
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Something Cliché About Hope

The citizens of Stellar Bay formed a curious knot near the landing pad as the UDL ship touched down, its thrusters maneuvering it expertly into place. Twelve years had passed since such vessels had landed on Monarch, back then Terra I. Then it had been a sign of panic, an admission of the Board’s miscalculation. Their incompetence.

Nyoka recalled the botched evacuation and read in the faces of the crowd the same feelings of apprehension. But now perhaps when these onlookers recalled this day it would be to remember a mark of change in Halcyon.

When only the four of them disembarked the people were confused. Nyoka knew rumors were flying but it didn’t matter. She had a man to see.

-

“Me? As chairman? Are you serious? You’re pulling my leg.” Sanjar’s smile faded. He turned to his assistant Celia for confirmation. “They’re pulling my leg, right?”

“They don’t appear to be, sir.” Celia replied.

“I’m one hundred percent serious Mr. Nandi. “ Kat said. “You’d have even more power to implement those changes.”

“See Sanjar, I told you it was a good change.” Nyoka clapped Kat on the shoulder. 

Loosening his tie Sanjar’s smile slipped off his face entirely “I don’t know, me, in charge of the entire Board? But you understand they would want something done about the four of you. Especially you, Ms. Welles.”

“I know. And I’ll face whatever punishment they decide.”

For a moment Nyoka felt a little tense. She knew Sanjar was going over something in his head. The rest of the Board might call for Kat’s head for what she’d done, for all the adjutant had pardoned them. They might not agree to work with someone who an outlaw convinced to step up as chairman. When next Sanjar spoke the shine in his eyes made Nyoka feel more at ease. He was certainly hatching a plan. 

“Well it would seem an opportune moment to join the Board - on our terms. And what a shame, the outlaws got away. Nyoka, how could you?” Sanjar’s grin was back as he laughed silently at his own joke. “Regardless, the lack of Board presence here as I said before in our earlier communication will certainly be enough for this meeting to be our little secret. “Balling his fists in excitement he reminded Nyoka of Felix. 

Felix, she thought fondly. Wonder how he’s doing. He’d left Hawthorne’s crew long ago, disgusted by his actions serving the Board. Maybe she’d be able to send him a note. 

Phineas stood in silence off to one side, arms folded in profile to Nyoka. He must have sensed her watching for he looked up and smiled. But there was melancholy in it. 

“Wanna take a walk?” She asked, glancing over her shoulder at Kat and Max “They’ll be fine alone here for a bit.”

“My legs could use some stretching.” Phineas admitted and allowed Nyoka to lead him out the door.

While the air of Monarch left a lot to be desired it beat being cooped up on a ship or in his lab. His lab! Phineas wondered if he could ever go back to it. Then he thought about the UDL corpses including Hawthorne’s still lying there, bloating and stinking up his home. Well. That could be remedied. 

Looking up Phineas realized he’d forgotten how beautiful the sky was. The blue always reminded him of...her. After his first few months alone Phineas had forbidden anything in his lab to be blue. Except for some of the chemicals he worked with. 

“So you’re a free man. Or you will be once Sanjar gets everything squared away. What are you gonna do now?” Nyoka asked.

“I have to get back to my lab which I wish I had asked to do earlier, not wander around here with-” he paused looking around then his voice dropped to a whisper. “With people staring.”

Nyoka stopped and looked around. “Nobody’s staring. Nobody’s here. They’re all at work or too busy on break to notice us walking around.” She hurried to catch up to him. Old man could move fast if he wanted. “But Doc, you’re a hundred percent serious about the Hope, aren’t you? I heard you and Kat talking about it.”

“I am, but I have no way to get into it, not with the security pickets in place. And now without the rest of the chemicals I need.”

Nyoka frowned. “That’s no good. “ She scoffed “Too bad we can’t bring it to you.”

“Yes, it wouldn’t even be-” Phineas halted suddenly and Nyoka crashed into him but surprisingly the old scientist didn’t even notice. “Bring the Hope to me…” Turning around he beamed at her. “That’s it! “

-

Max never had to wrestle his partner to determine who was on top first but Kat proved a worthy challenge. She thought fondling him would make him lose his concentration but she was wrong. Now he’d won. Hands on either side of her head he smiled down at her, panting though he hadn’t even begun to exert himself. 

“Will you at least come visit?” He asked.

“Maybe.” Kat answered coyly and Max leaned down and nipped her ear, kissed her cheek. “Okay okay!” she relented. “I’ll come visit, as often as I can. But it might not be much. A lot of messes to clean up plus my dad…”

Max settled down to not quite rest upon her, their legs tangled together. “I know he is more important. He’s your father.”

Kat was silent for a time, only smiled. “Did you think about what I said?”

“I will have to give it more thought. “

She nudged him. “Dad knows about us, he’s not stupid.” Drawing him closer she reached between them to touch Max insistently which made him inhale slowly. “But let’s not talk about that right now.”

Max fucked Kat a lot before. A lot. More than he had a single person in all his life. He knew her body well and by now their couplings were perfect. The feeling that overcame him now was something deeper than an urge to get it on, a sadness and the urge to be tender with her the latter of which was not new but the sudden onset must have been brought on by the fact that he might never see her again. That he might be the one cast aside instead of the other way around. He hadn’t loved his partners, been fond of them. Maybe he loved some but he had been too selfish and cold to realize it.

His old lovers had said something along those lines but he was eager to move on not let some fling psychologically analyze him, Max didn’t need another person. Nobody could satisfy him, sexually or intellectually so should he be driven thus, denial was best. Or his left hand. The hand you don’t use sometimes feels like another person but it does tire quickly.

But here, now, much as he liked the bloodletting frenzied rutting Max had taken over to at least try to coax Kat into doing things his way. She relented. So for what was probably the last time he gently made love to her, and she responded to his touch more tenderly than she ever had.

They didn’t so much finish as wind down and disentangling from one another held each other close instead. 

-

“Dad?” Kat approached Phineas as he stared out the window of his lab. His reflection was for an instant himself as a younger man and Kat running up to him excitedly. 

“Whatcha lookin’ at?”  


“What I wanted to show you.” Phineas said simply.

“Show me wh- “ Kat stopped to gasp.

The Hope loomed in the distance, visible from the orbital lab. Not a distant dream nor a legend.

“Wow.” Kat said softly. “Is that…”

“The Hope, yes.” Phineas answered. “We’re about to be very busy.”

“So that’s what this dimettle fox-whatchacallit is for-”

“Dimethyl sulfoxide.”

“That’s it.”

They were both silent for a time. “Kat?”

“Yeah?”

He gestured for her to follow. Passing through his quarters and back to the lab she followed him. “A few things to get out of the way first. When I’m gone I’m leaving all of this to you.”

“But, “ Kat protested “I’m not a scientist-”

“No, but you’re a born leader. Rather than boring papers I’m telling you my last will and testament. I want to be laid to rest beside your mother Kenna Welles in the family crypt in Byzantium and for you to take over administration of the Hope project.”

Kat put a hand on her hip. “So much for sentimentality. Grandma said you were all logic and no nonsense.”

“I had this big speech ready about what the adjutant said about sacrifice and how I’ll never make up for thirty five years lost but…” he turned to her “I know we have right now. “

Then it caught her eye. The paper flower and the photograph. Kat carefully slid it out from under the magnet. “Gonna see Mom every time you drink milk straight from the bottle standing in front of the fridge?” 

Phineas laughed. “She hated when I did that. Coffee?”

Kat looked over her shoulder. "Yes please.”

Coffee served, Phineas sat down at the table with Kat. His daughter. All grown up, the spitting image of her mother. Just as mad as her father and twice as dangerous. A chip off the old block as it were. “I know about you and the vicar.”

Kat choked on her coffee. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I think you know exactly what I mean. “ Taking a drink of his coffee, Phineas stared at her unblinking in that omniscient manner all parents have. He then added in a singsong manner “If it makes you happy.” He took another sip. “How do you even feel about him?”

“It’s...complicated. I pretty much had to disappear to comply with Sanjar’s plan so...I don’t know if I can see him anymore. I think I just wanted him and now that I can’t have him, it…” she sighed. “It doesn’t matter. Fleeting joy and all that.”

Silence fell between them again.

“How’s it feel?” Kat asked suddenly. “To be having a normal day?”

“Normal for me went out the window years ago.”

“Fair. Um, so are you supposed to be doing something?”

“I am.”

Kat paused “But the Hope?”

“I have a team of volunteers and a cadre of scientists appointed by Chairman Nandi, they don’t need me to be there to hold their hand. I have more important things to attend to.”

“Like what?”

Phineas smiled at her. 

Kat chuckled softly. “I love you, Dad.”

“And I love you, little Kat.”

No, he could not make up for thirty five years. But Phineas had right now. Sometimes, often, right now was all you had. And he intended to make the most of it.


End file.
